A lot of people will happily consume anything if they enjoy it even a bit and it doesn’t take any effort to digest. Doesn’t need to be good nor offer meaning or anything, if it’s just easy and pleasurable enough to make passing time a little more bearable. Empty calories for the soul is a good way to put it, but to a lot of people that’s still plenty enough. Engaging with art requires at least some effort. Mentally, emotionally, sometimes physically…
But that’s why my analogy works; imagine if all you ever got to eat was potato chips. You’d survive, at least you a little bit, but your quality of life would be abysmal. On occasion they might not be too bad but in excess, or exclusively, you’d die young. Yes, it does take effort to consume something better, especially in a society incentivized to continue feeding you empty calories, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try getting a fresh vegetable in your system.
A lot of people will happily consume anything if they enjoy it even a bit and it doesn’t take any effort to digest. Doesn’t need to be good nor offer meaning or anything, if it’s just easy and pleasurable enough to make passing time a little more bearable. Empty calories for the soul is a good way to put it, but to a lot of people that’s still plenty enough. Engaging with art requires at least some effort. Mentally, emotionally, sometimes physically…
But that’s why my analogy works; imagine if all you ever got to eat was potato chips. You’d survive, at least you a little bit, but your quality of life would be abysmal. On occasion they might not be too bad but in excess, or exclusively, you’d die young. Yes, it does take effort to consume something better, especially in a society incentivized to continue feeding you empty calories, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try getting a fresh vegetable in your system.
Oh yeah, I 100% agree with that. Just lamenting about how a lot of people are… well, dull.
Ironically that also works for the metaphor given just how many Americans have terrible fast food diets, either by choice or necessity. Lol.